Unit 1: The Geography of Texas
Chapter 1 – The Land of Texas
Where on Earth is Texas – TX Land and Water – TX Climate – TX Plants and Animals
Chapter 2 – The People of Texas
Political Regions – Population Regions – Economic Regions
Inside this Unit
Pre-Test
GT Differentiation Chart with activities and strategies for students
Extension Menu for students who test out
Literature Connections
Unit 1: The Geography of Texas - Pre-Test
Name: ____________________________________
Answer each question below including all the details you know.
1. On what continent is Texas located?
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2. What states, countries, and landforms border Texas?
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3. What types of natural regions are in Texas?
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4. Describe the daily weather in Texas. What type of extreme weather situations occur?
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5. What are some animals and plants are found in Texas?
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6. What is the difference between a country, state, county, and city?
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7. What is population?
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8. What kind of agriculture is in Texas?
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9. Name different ethnic groups that live in Texas.
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10. What is the difference between rural and urban?
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Unit 1: The Geography of Texas – GT Differentiation Chart
Lesson
Chapter 1 Lesson 1
Where on Earth is Texas?
Chapter 1 Lesson 2
Auditory/Analytic
Visual / Global
Tactile Kinesthetic /
Global
Compare the sizes of the
two largest states and the
two smallest states
Create a foldable comparing
Earth, North America,
United States, and Texas
Create a matching game
with pictures for vocabulary
words
Create riddles to describe
the different regions
Design a symbol to
represent each region
Interview your class about
different regions of Texas
they have visited and create
a graph
Look at example weather
newspapers and then
create your own for each
region
Create a comic strip with
captions and pictures to
represent the vocabulary
words
Watch weather reports
from different stations on
the internet and create a
flip book of the differences
Write a poem about the
animals of Texas
Design a greeting card from
an animal of Texas
Role play an animal with
props for the class
Create a scavenger hunt
traveling from one county
to another.
Create a flow chart from the Make a drawing of Harris
largest political region to
county labeling the
the smallest.
different cities.
Find the largest population
growths and mark on a
map.
Create a bar graph to show
the populations of ethnic
groups in Texas.
Create 2 jig saw puzzles one
showing urban and one
with rural areas.
Create interview questions
to ask the workers in
agriculture, industry, and
technology
Design an advertisement to
convince someone to join
one of the three economic
fields.
Using the map on page 62
create a new map with a
key to show places with
industry and technology.
Texas Land and Water
Chapter 1 Lesson 3
Texas Climate
Chapter 1 Lesson 4
Texas Plants and Animals
Chapter 2 Lesson 1
Political Regions
Chapter 2 Lesson 2
Population Regions
Chapter 2 Lesson 3
Economic Regions
Unit 1: The Geography of Texas – Extension Menu
Chapter 1 Lesson 1
Chapter 1 Lesson 4
Chapter 2 Lesson 3
Research the history and
Choose an economic section
uses of GPS and locate
Design a poster displaying
you would like to work in
different places in the 4
the animals and environment
and create a poster
regions of the United States,
of the animals of Texas.
describing it.
with their coordinates.
Chapter 2 Lesson 1
Chapter 1 Lesson 3
Plan a two week vacation to
visit the most important
places in Texas. Be sure to
keep a budget including all
expenses.
Record a weathercast using
maps and pertinent weather
vocabulary.
Chapter 2 Lesson 2
Create a presentation
highlighting the cities with
the largest populations and
ethnic groups that make up
the population.
Summing it all up
Create a jeopardy game
board with categories and
questions from each section
of Unit 1. At least 5
categories and 5 questions
for each.
Chapter 1 Lesson 2
Create a brochure of the
places and features located
in each region.
Daily Log of Extension Work
Name: ___________________________________
Project: __________________________________
* Adapted from Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom by Susan Winebrenner ©2001. Free Spirit Publishing Company Inc. Minneapolis, MN 866/703-7322.*
Today’s
Date
What I accomplished today
What I plan to accomplish during
tomorrow’s work period.
Unit 1: The Geography of Texas – Literature Connections
Author
Title
Year ISBN
Summary
Axelrod, Amy
THE NEWS HOUNDS IN THE
GREAT BALLOON RACE: A
GEOGRAPHY RACE
2000
0-689-82409-2
Map skills are fun when helping the TV News
Hounds work the story of the Great Balloon Race.
As they cover the race, readers interpret a Texas
map, examine a chart to select a balloon, and get
footage of a tree dotted field.
Brisson, Pat
KATE HEADS WEST
1990
0-027-14345-7
In a series of letters to her relatives and friends,
Kate describes her trip through Oklahoma, Texas,
New Mexico, and Arizona with her best friend
Lucy and Lucy’s parents.
Cherry, Lynne
THE ARMADILLO FROM
AMARILLO
1994
0-152-00359-2
An armadillo leaves his home in San Antonio to
discover his place in the world
Kovacs, Deborah
and Madin, Kate
BENEATH BLUE WATERS:
MEETINGS WITH
REMARKABLE DEEP-SEA
CREATURES
1996
0-670-85653-3
Studying the ocean and its inhabitants is a logical
topic for students living in Texas, a state with a
long coastline. The text and photographs present
the natural regions that are found beneath the
oceans. The text includes an author’s note and a
glossary. The text could be used to introduce a
study of the ocean along the Texas coast and to
compare it with other bodies of water.
Lourie, Peter
RIO GRANDE: FROM THE
ROCKY MOUNTAINS TO THE
GULF OF MEXICO
1999
1-563-97706-0
The author provides a guided tour of the river from
its source to its mouth.
McCave, Marta
COUNTING HEADS AND
MORE: THE WORK OF THE
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU
1998
0-7613-3017-8
The history behind the Census and its importance
is presented in this book.
Reading Response Sheet
Name: ____________________________________ Date: _______________________________
Title of Book: ___________________________________________________________________
Author’s Name: ___________________________________ Pages read today: ________________
My reactions/feelings to today’s reading: _________________________________________________________
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What’s really great about this book so far: ________________________________________________________
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How does the information in the book relate to the textbook or research you have done (check accuracy): ______
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
New words from this book: ___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Lasting thought: ____________________________________________________________________________
* Adapted from Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom by Susan Winebrenner ©2001. Free Spirit Publishing Company Inc. Minneapolis, MN 866/703-7322.*
Reading Response Sheet
Name: ____________________________________ Date: _______________________________
Title of Book: ___________________________________________________________________
Author’s Name: ___________________________________ Pages read today: ________________
My reactions/feelings to today’s reading: _________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
What’s really great about this book so far: ________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
How does the information in the book relate to the textbook or research you have done (check accuracy): ______
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
New words from this book: ___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Lasting thought: ____________________________________________________________________________
* Adapted from Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom by Susan Winebrenner ©2001. Free Spirit Publishing Company Inc. Minneapolis, MN 866/703-7322.*